By The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies

Justices reject emergency appeal seeking immediate change in West Point’s admissions process

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a recent decision, the Supreme Court has allowed West Point to continue considering race in its admissions process, despite an ongoing lawsuit challenging its policies. The emergency appeal, seeking to compel a change in the admissions process, was rejected by the justices on Friday. The order, issued without any noted dissents, arrives as West Point is selecting candidates for its next entering class, the Class of 2028.

The military academy had notably been excluded from the court’s June decision that effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions. The court’s conservative majority ruled that race-conscious admissions plans violated the U.S. Constitution in cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. However, the high court clarified that its decision did not encompass West Point and other service academies, introducing the potential influence of national security interests on the legal analysis.

In the brief unsigned order issued on Friday, the justices emphasized that “this order should not be construed as expressing any view on the merits of the constitutional question.”

The legal challenge against West Point was initiated by Students for Fair Admissions, the same group behind lawsuits against Harvard and North Carolina. The group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Military Academy in September and a similar suit against the U.S. Naval Academy in October. While lower courts had declined to block the admissions policies at both military academies during the ongoing lawsuits, only the West Point ruling has been brought before the Supreme Court.

Lawyers representing Students for Fair Admissions argued that every passing day without a change in West Point’s admissions process allows the academy to continue using an “illegal race-based admissions process” that could affect aspiring applicants.

West Point, situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, approximately 40 miles north of New York City, has played a crucial role in shaping the leadership of the U.S. Army. The Justice Department, in its brief requesting the court to maintain the current policies, highlighted that West Point graduates constitute about 20% of all Army officers and nearly half of the Army’s current four-star generals.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, underscored the importance of a diverse Army officer corps for national security. She stated, “For more than forty years, our Nation’s military leaders have determined that a diverse Army officer corps is a national-security imperative and that achieving that diversity requires limited consideration of race in selecting those who join the Army as cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point.”